1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging apparatus which can rapidly charge and a charging method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various charging apparatuses including electric double-layer capacitors have been developed. For example, in Japanese Patent No. 3738617, there has been disclosed a charging apparatus in which the control of switching between series connection and parallel connection of a plurality of electric double-layer capacitors is performed at every constant cycle. In this charging apparatus, when connected in series, the plurality of electric double-layer capacitors are charged. In contrast, when the plurality of electric double-layer capacitors are connected in parallel, a charge voltage is monitored and, when the charge voltage exceeds a reference voltage, the charge of electricity to the plurality of electric double-layer capacitors is stopped.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3738617, since the control of switching between series connection and parallel connection of a plurality of electric double-layer capacitors is performed at every constant cycle and the plurality of electric double-layer capacitors are charged when they are connected in series, there is a problem in that a consecutive charging operation cannot be performed and therefore rapid charge cannot be performed.